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Man, 32, killed in execution-style raid

Chris Paver

Late last year his house was firebombed. In January he was shot in the upper thigh and hospitalised. Now, Darko Janceski is dead.

The 32-year-old was gunned down in front of his parents' home at Berkeley, in Wollongong's southern suburbs, in an execution-style killing at about 5.10pm on Saturday.

He died on the way to hospital after he was shot several times, once in the heart, when a gunman arrived at the Gannet Avenue home on a motorcycle.

Police would not say whether they believed the murder was linked to the earlier attacks. They believed Janceski had been targeted and the shooting was not random, Lake Illawarra police Detective Superintendent Wayne Starling said yesterday said.

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He also confirmed a firearm had been found at the scene, but it is unknown whether the weapon was the same one used to kill Janceski.

The murdered man had previously been linked to the investigation into the shooting death of Saso Ristevski, who was killed in front of his parents at their Lake Heights home last September, and the disappearance of Goran Nikolovski, whose burnt-out car was found in bushland on Macquarie Pass late last year and who is presumed dead.

Police merged the strike forces created to investigate the two cases.

Police said Nikolovski and Ristevski knew Janceski but did not confirm the nature of their relationship.

Police have now formed Strike Force Eave, led by homicide squad and Lake Illawarra detectives, to look into the circumstances surrounding Janceski's death.

Superintendent Starling said the separate investigations could be joined.

''It depends what comes out of the initial inquiries over the next couple of days,'' he said.

Janceski's father was also injured in Saturday's attack, after he fought with the gunman moments after his son had been shot.

''A number of superficial injuries were sustained to Darko's father,'' Superintendent Starling said. A Gannet Avenue witness said he heard ''three or four gun shots'' and later saw Janceski's father hit the shooter with a ''metal pole''.

The motorcyclist fled north along Gannet Avenue and made his escape up the steep grass hill at the end of the dead-end street.

Several witnesses said the suspected killer had been riding a blue and white trail bike.

A police helicopter also searched the surrounding area, including the edge of nearby Lake Illawarra, for any signs of an abandoned motorbike.

''Already we've secured the crime scene, DNA samples have been taken, a large number of witnesses are still to be interviewed in relation to the matter and also there will be a number of persons of interest that will be spoken to as well,'' Superintendent Starling said.

Earlier this year, two men were charged with attempted murder in relation to the first shooting attack against Janceski, although police yesterday said inquiries were still underway.

Janceski himself had also appeared in Wollongong Local Court in December, to face allegations that he ordered a man out of a $33,000 car and stole the vehicle.

He was accused of demanding a man pay him $15,000 or he would steal his car, the Illawarra Mercury reported at the time. He did not appear in court in February due to injuries from the first shooting.